Steve Ballmer ends run as Microsoft's relentless salesman

By Bill Rigby SEATTLE (Reuters) - Few CEOs wielded more power than Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer. And yet the company's first and foremost salesman never gained the respect he deserved for his role in transforming Bill Gates' tiny startup in the woods outside Seattle into the world's largest software maker. Ballmer, who announced his retirement from the head of Microsoft Corp on Friday, had the misfortune to follow megastar Gates at the helm just as the company hit the end of its explosive growth period and faced a resurgent Apple Inc under an inspired Steve Jobs. ...

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